Aight here's the chapter.
I want to thank you guys so so much for all the support. For last chapter, it was the first time for this story we hit 1000 views in one day, which was amazing to say the least. Thanks for all the support whether it be reviewing, following, or even just being a common reader.
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Think about it, feedback in the reviews please.
Enjoy!
Chapter 13: Nice of You to Join Us
"So, what, we just hold hands and you teleport us onto Mount Olympus?" Percy asked. Aphrodite smiled mischievously and nodded.
"You might wanna close your eyes." Aphrodite said, quickly taking Percy's hand in her own. Percy sighed and shook his head, looking around the forest to make sure nobody was watching. After being shaken out of his shock from Rachel's information, Percy and Aphrodite had ventured off into the woods of Camp Half-Blood (not to do what you think they were going to do).
"Fine." Percy relented as Aphrodite used her thumbs to caress the back of his hand. Percy rolled his eyes at the touch and closed his eyelids.
A soft and slightly wet sensation on his lips made Percy almost jump up in surprise, and when he opened his eyes, Aphrodite's face was retreating from Percy's vision. Her petite figure bouncing up and down on her toes and a quiet moan escaping from her lips was all Percy needed to deduce what she had done.
"Aphrodite." Percy chastised, doing well to not raise his voice at the all-powerful goddess. All Percy received was a rather seductive lip bite that made him all but uncomfortable.
"Percy." Aphrodite teased. Percy groaned and rolled his eyes.
"Percy!" A loud and booming voice made Percy jump out of his skin. Turning his head, Percy found the face of the sea god who was trying his hardest not to smirk at the embarrassing moment.
Percy stumbled away from Aphrodite, basically tripping over his own feet.
"Can we begin now?" Zeus asked with an impatient look and raised eyebrows. Percy shrugged only to have Aphrodite hug him and whisper in his ear.
"Artemis looks nice today." Aphrodite quickly whispered before retreating and smiling slyly. She flashed onto her throne and giggled after seeing Percy's exasperated expression.
Percy glanced at the goddess of the hunt to see her slightly flushed with her cheeks tinged red. He took a deep breath and remembered what Aphrodite said.
"Now that that's over with, please Perseus, inform us of what you know." Zeus boomed. Percy prepared himself with a sigh and nodded.
"We just talked to Rachel-" Percy was quickly cut off.
"The Oracle?" Zeus asked, interrupting and already impatient Percy.
"Yes." Percy said, controlling his breathing. "She said-"
"How is my Oracle?" Apollo interrupted. Percy turned his gaze to glare at the god before seeing that his expression reflected one of genuine concern and curiosity.
"She's good. Not as alone as before." Percy said quickly. He didn't want to mistake alone for lonely, as he knew the very distinct difference between the two. "May I continue?"
"Proceed." Zeus said, commanding the rest of the council to listen.
"Thank you." Percy said, exasperated. "A couple of weeks ago, I started to get attacked by packs of hellhounds, yada yada yada, which only started to happen after 5 years of peace."
"And you think this is a sign of what is to come?" Zeus asked. Percy shrugged, knowing his question was a part of the king's never-ending quest to boost his own ego.
"I just want it to stop. I want to live in peace." Percy said simply. "So this led me to go to Camp Half-Blood and ask the Oracle, who said that - and I quote - 'a betrayal is imminent' and that 'the balance is soon to shift'."
"Did she not say anything else?" Zeus asked.
"Father, you know that the Oracle has always been vague." Apollo chimed in. "The fact that she gave us information without reciting a prophecy is a feat in itself."
"That is… unavoidable, I suppose." Zeus said. "A betrayal could take many forms."
"Agreed. Although vague, it does narrow down what we should be afraid of." Athena added.
"I think we can agree any former or external enemies can be eliminated." Artemis said.
"Not quite." Percy said without thinking. More than a dozen heads whipped onto Percy, who was probably expected to become a spectator to the council. "Rachel didn't necessarily say that you all would get betrayed."
For that comment, Percy received a variety of blank, impatient, and intrigued expressions (as well as the prideful and lustful look from Aphrodite).
"Percy's right." Poseidon said after a moment.
"He may be, but the Oracle still incited a future imbalance." Hades warned. "Possibly an imbalance of power."
"That would make sense." Hephaestus said.
"However, there is the possibility…" Hermes began to explain other options.
During all of this, Percy scanned the gods in absolute amazement and utter shock at the fact that the council was having a sincere, civil conversation. He didn't think the possibility was even imaginable, what with the amount of 5 year old level maturities. The Olympians were actually doing what a council was supposed to do, figure out a problem without threats of war or insults of one's intelligence.
Of course, the moment of improbability was interrupted by Ares.
"This is all useless." Ares said simply. Percy rolled his eyes and shrugged. Of course the pair of Ares' big mouth and small brain would ruin the moment.
"This is not useless, Ares." Poseidon hissed. "What we are doing is a necessity in preparation for a threat we know nothing about."
"If we want to prepare, we have to eliminate improbable and impossible possibilities." Athena cut it. "I believe that because a betrayal is involved, we should in fact eliminate the possibility of an internal threat."
"What?" Percy muttered, this time taking care as to not allow any of the gods the ability to hear him.
"The possibility of a demigod or descendant betraying us is extremely low, and the chance of one of the gods even betraying us is even slimmer." Athena explained. At this, Percy scoffed. There were multiple occasions that Percy could remember where both major and minor gods went against Olympus.
After a few gods glanced at Percy, he quickly covered up his scoff with a small coughing fit before awkwardly returning his attention to the council.
"The reason that many minor gods sided with the Titans was due to our negligence towards them and the unimportance their children held." Athena reasoned. "Since we have been improving for the past half-decade, I believe that we can rely on our fellow gods to stay loyal to Olympus."
Percy cocked his head in thought, and ended up agreeing with Athena's statement. From what he had seen and heard, the Olympians had been doing better. Much better than what he expected, at least.
"This is true. And none of the Olympians would betray the council either." Zeus stated. "So it cannot be a betrayal of the gods."
"Perhaps a betrayal between friends or lovers." Demeter said. Percy was surprised, as he had never really had any sort of meaningful interaction with the goddess, and she was quite silent during every meeting between the Olympians that he had been to.
"Or even a betrayal between the two camps." Hades offered.
"The camps have cooperated very well so far, creating bonds and traditions over the years as to connect and communicate with each other." Hermes added. "I do not believe that they would betray each other willingly."
"Yes, but they could do so unwillingly, as we have seen Kronos plant thoughts and ideas into Ares' thick skull." Hephaestus added.
"Hey!" Ares yelled, earning only a smirk from the other.
"Then you would have to reconsider the possibility of anyone betraying us. Any god, minor or major would be in that category." Athena said.
"I don't think an unwilling betrayal would be in the question." Apollo said. "A betrayal combined with an imbalance of power would yield a willing one of two sides with strong amounts of power. A betrayal also yields that one side cannot forgive the other, which should tell us that we are dealing with a fully autonomous betrayal."
"Where did that come from?" Artemis asked, earning a wide smile that was as bright as the sun.
"I've always been wise, lil sis." Apollo said, winking at his twin.
"I'm older than you!" Artemis hissed, her fists clenching on her throne's armrests. Percy chuckled at the pair, which caused Artemis' face to flick towards Percy. Percy caught her gaze, which made Artemis blush and look away towards the current speaker.
Percy rolled his eyes, remembering Aphrodite's words but not allowing them to take hold of him. Just because she was an eternal goddess with a bubbly personality didn't mean she couldn't be misleading or manipulative.
"That's enough!" Zeus growled, banging his master bolt against the floor. "We can't go on forever. We must decide on a course of action."
"Can we do anything? Realistically?" Apollo asked.
"We can." Zeus stated. "We can inform our children of what is to occur, and we can ready ourselves. If a betrayal is what is to happen, then we must limit who we surround ourselves with. Interact with only those you trust with your life, and be absolutely positive your trust is not misplaced."
"That sounds like a good place to start." Poseidon said after a moment of thought from the council.
"My only problem is that we cannot prevent this. If the Oracle has said this will happen, there is nothing that can stop it." Apollo added. "We may delay it, as we did with the Great Prophecy years ago, but it will happen eventually."
"Then we wait for a more straightforward direction. A prophecy will aid us in being specific in our actions." Hades said. Apollo sighed and thought for a minute before nodding.
"I suppose that is an acceptable course of action." Apollo relented. He nodded toward his father, who nodded back and addressed the rest of the council.
Zeus had the council vote upon the decision, with the result being an almost unanimous decision to begin the process of delaying and preparing for the unknown threat. After the fact, Zeus disappeared from the throne room, causing a majority of the other Olympians to zap away as well.
Only a few of the Olympians remained in the room, now. Artemis was looking rather flustered and upset while conversing with Poseidon, while Aphrodite still sat in her throne, flicking her gaze between the other gods and Perseus himself.
Poseidon and Artemis began to make their way towards Percy, Poseidon a few paces ahead and reaching Percy first.
"Percy, it's good to see you again son." Poseidon greeted, patting him on the shoulder. Percy nodded.
"Good to see you too, dad." Percy said back. He may have a grudge against the Olympians, but his father was still his dad. They weren't the most conventional father-son pair, and definitely weren't very close, but they were family. Poseidon was his only direct family now.
"So, Artemis and I were talking, and we've decided it's best that you leave your home for now." Poseidon said. Percy raised an eyebrow at the out of the blue decision.
"Why?" Percy asked simply. He spotted Artemis watching from a few steps behind Poseidon, who was shifting his weight uncomfortably.
"Since you have been attacked multiple times, we fear that it will surely continue and end badly for you." Poseidon answered. Percy laughed and shook his head.
"And where would you have me go?" Percy asked. Poseidon took a deep breath and chuckled as if he couldn't believe what he was about to do.
"You would travel with Artemis' hunters." Poseidon said carefully. Immediately, Percy felt heat rush to his cheeks and blinked in confusion. In the background, he could hear the faint sound of Aphrodite's giggles.
"What?! I thought the point of this was to get me somewhere safe?" Percy asked incredulously. "The hunters would shoot me on sight!"
"It is of my understanding that they had no problem with you at Purgatory." Poseidon said, sighing. Percy shook his head wildly.
"That's different. That was totally different!" Percy said. "And besides, you can't make me!" As soon as the words left his mouth, Percy felt like a whiny toddler who was ordered into a timeout.
"If it is of any consolation, Artemis has sworn to prevent her hunters from harming you to the best of her ability." Poseidon reassured calmly. "As for forcing you to relocate, I realize that although I'm your father, I haven't always been there when you've needed me. But for this, I just want you to be safe. That's all I want."
Percy sighed and looked toward Artemis, who was slightly red and glancing between the floor beneath her and Percy himself. He rubbed the back of his neck for a minute and finally relented.
"Artemis." he called. "Are you sure about this?" the goddess sheepishly made eye contact with Percy for a moment, and slowly nodded her head.
"Alright." Percy said. "Alright fine. But I wanna stay at Camp Half-Blood tonight."
"This is fine." Poseidon said. He looked back at Artemis, who nodded.
"Okay. So you can just send me there, right?" Percy asked. Poseidon nodded and went to put a hand on his son's shoulder.
"See you later, dear!" Aphrodite called from her throne, causing Percy to groan and the other two gods to have expressions of confusion.
Percy haphazardly waved back to Aphrodite before feeling a fairly odd feeling. A flash of light prompted him to close his eyes tightly and reopen them after a few seconds of disorientation.
He was back at Camp Half-Blood, right in the Mess Hall at nearly full table, everybody staring at the disoriented and confused demigod.
"Percy! Nice of you to join us, albeit in an odd fashion." Chiron called from the head table, his voice causing Percy to whip his head wildly and scan the whole pavilion. The pavilion was exactly how Percy remembered, with the tables arranged neatly and the campers spread evenly. "Although not expected, you are welcome to eat if you haven't already."
"T-Thanks, Chiron." Percy stuttered, still in shock. "Do you have an extra dish?" Chiron smiled and gestured toward a table off to the side that held a handful of covered silver platters and bronze goblets.
Percy once again thanked Chiron before he scrambled to get a platter and goblet. Once he retrieved said items, Percy scanned the room to find an empty table. Finding none, Percy looked toward the head table to see Chiron gesturing for Percy to sit with him and Mr. D.
Shrugging, Percy decided that there was no better place to sit and took a seat next to Chiron and Dionysus.
"My boy, this takes me back to many memories of your times here." Chiron reminisced once Percy made himself comfortable.
"I don't remember ever sitting with you guys." Percy joked. "Does this make me old, now that I'm sitting with the managers of the camp?"
"You are nowhere near the definition, Percy. Considering Mr. D and I have a combined age inconceivable to you, I think it's safe to say you're still full of youth."
Percy chuckled and opened the silver platter beside him, revealing a plate of perfectly cooked barbeque with a side plate of grapes.. Simultaneously, his goblet began to fill with blue Coke.
"Some things never change." Chiron said, chuckling at Percy's rather unique selection for dinner. "So, my boy, what has happened to you in the past half-decade?"
"Nothing really interesting, at least not until a couple of months ago." Percy said, making sure to fully swallow his forkful of spaghetti before speaking. "It's really just been a routine for the past five years."
Percy took a sip of blue Coke and almost moaned at the pleasurable essence that swirled down his throat. "Living in the middle of nowhere is kinda what it sounds like. It's uneventful, but that's the point. I have learned some new skills, though."
"And what provoked you to learn these new skills?" Chiron asked curiously.
"Well, I don't have an infinite supply of food, so I learned how to hunt, though I'm no expert or anything." Percy said. "Speaking of hunting, I learned at the meeting that I'm going to travel with the Hunters of Artemis for a bit."
"What would compel the gods to think you would not be shot as soon as you entered their camp?" Chiron asked. A smile creeped onto his face at the obviously humorous situation.
"That's what I said!" Percy exclaimed. "I don't know. My dad said that it wasn't safe at Purgatory anymore, so I'm living with the hunters for now."
"Purgatory?" Chiron asked, confused.
"Sorry, that's what I name my home. I don't know." Percy shrugged. Chiron's understanding of the meaning of the label caused his gaze to turn sympathetic. "Oh, I'm fine Chiron."
"I'm sure you are, my boy." Chiron muttered.
"What about you? How's the camp been since I left?" Percy asked, cutting through a brief uncomfortable silence at the head table.
"Terrible." Mr. D groaned from beside Chiron. Percy smiled and chuckled along with Chiron.
"The camp's been well. We have many more campers as you have already seen, but we also have much more help than when you last attended." Chiron said. He stretched his hand out and pointed towards a table in the far corner of the Mess Hall.
"Wow. I didn't even realize…" Percy trailed off as he saw a number of his old friends joking and laughing at the table. The aggressive daughter of Ares. The mischievous twins of Hermes. The kind daughter of Demeter. The gifted healer of Apollo. The Oracle. The elder son of Athena.
"Go." Chiron said softly.
"Sorry?" Percy asked, turning toward Chiron. His mentor smiled and beckoned him forward.
"Go. Your friends have dearly missed you." Chiron said. Percy stared at the centaur for a moment, and realized that even though he didn't explicitly state it, his mentor knew that the son of Poseidon missed his friends as well. Even if he didn't know it.
"Alright. Thank you." Percy said, moving to get up. "Oh, and is there a place for me to stay tonight?"
"The cabin of Poseidon will always be open to you." Chiron said, an oddly placed smile stretching across his face.
"Thanks Chiron. See you later Mr. D!" Percy called as he swooped up his half-empty goblet of Coke and made his way towards his friends. A lazy wave made a grin appear on Percy's face and as he neared the table with his old friends, he couldn't help but continue to nervously smile.
He hadn't seen most of his friends in five years. It was crazy to think that they would meet again at the place they all first saw each other: Camp Half-Blood.
What was he feeling? What were they thinking?
Percy took a rather shaky breath, an action slightly different from his nervous and joyful smile only moments before.
"Hey guys." Percy managed, slightly deterred by their already laughing and joking manner. The whole table turned almost simultaneously, wide smiles and cheeky grins on all of their faces.
"I win!" a bearded young man exclaimed, causing his twin next to him to groan and flick a drachma at the other.
"So close, just two more minutes!" Travis groaned while Conner happily stuffed the gold coin into his pocket. The twins were easily discernible due to Conner sporting a generous black beard while his twin only had a thick, twirly mustache.
"What were you betting on?" Percy asked as Travis scooted over for Percy to sit down and place his goblet on the table.
"How long it would take for you to come over." Will said, his tone indicating that he didn't really support the bet. "I almost participated, screw my luck." Never mind, he was just bitter he wasn't one drachma richer.
"Shouldn't you have known, Will? Aren't you the son of the god of prophecy?" Katie asked, earning a groan from Will. He lightly banged his head against the table, causing Percy to grin at the easygoing and comfortable attitude he already felt within the group.
"I'm a healer, we've been over this like a billion times." Will explained as if it physically pained him to say the words. "I don't know shit when it comes to archery or telling the future. And if anything, Rachel should've bet!"
The group looked at the Oracle, who smiled sheepishly and shrugged.
"You'll never know if I knew." Rachel said. Percy smiled at how comfortable Rachel looked. He remembered a time when Rachel lived in a cave and was relatively isolated from the rest of the camp. It was nice to see her with friends.
"None of that matters, cause I still won. Now, Percy, how long are you staying?" Conner asked, leaning farther onto the table. Percy smiled and took a sip of his blue Coke. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Malcolm give him a questioning glance at his choice of drink.
"I'm only staying the night. I have to live with the Hunters after that." Percy said. This caused a cheer from Conner, a groan from travis, and a combination of disgusted and confused expressions from the rest.
"The Hunters of Artemis?" Katie asked.
"Another drachma!" Conner cheered.
"When the fuck did you get suicidal?" Malcolm asked.
"That's not fair!" Travis groaned, slapping a drachma into Conner's outstretched palm.
Percy chuckled at the mixture of reactions and flicked a drachma out of his pocket onto the table in front of Travis.
"Hey, wait a minute!" Conner complained, seeing Travis pick up the coin with a smirk and giving Percy a gratifying nod.
"Perce, why're you going to the Hunters?" Will asked, earning a shrug from Percy.
"Dad said my home isn't safe anymore. So now I have to travel with the hunters." Percy stated, not giving anyone a clue on how he felt about the situation. If he was being honest, Percy himself had no idea how he felt either.
"You do realize you don't have the Curse of Achilles anymore, right?" Clarisse asked. "Arrows hurt like a bitch."
"Thanks for that, Clarisse." Percy said.
"No problem Prissy." Clarisse said, slapping him roughly on the back and causing him to slightly lurch forward.
"I'll be fine, guys. If it comes down to it, I'll just camp a mile away from them or something." Percy said. "Anyways, enough about that. What are you guys doing here now?"
"We're camp counselors!" Travis said proudly, puffing out his chest.
"No college plans?" Percy asked, taking another sip of his drink.
"Not really. I don't think college is our place, if you know what I mean." Conner said, smiling mischievously. Percy nodded in understanding. If the dyslexia and ADHD weren't enough for the twins to struggle, their constant mission to prank, pickpocket, and steal anyone in sight would definitely get them kicked out.
"Even without that, why would you want to leave this place?" Katie said, gesturing to the younger kids who were laughing and eating at the rest of the tables.
"We can be mentors and even parents to the kids. And with the surplus amount of children getting claimed nowadays, camp needs all the help it can get." Will said. Percy nodded and looked at the rest of his friends. All of them were sporting proud smiles on their faces at the success of the camp and the role they were playing.
They were happy, there was no debating that.
"Hey Perce, why don't you become a counselor?" Malcolm asked. "Pretty sure it would be better than staying with the Hunters."
"Maybe." Percy said softly, knowing that he wouldn't. At least, he wouldn't accept the offer at the moment. "Once I'm off the hook with the Hunters, I'll think about it. Don't want to defy the all-mighty Olympians."
The entire group groaned sans a grinning Conner.
"Is that another drachma for Conner?" Clarisse asked, her question being answered by a reluctant Travis basically hurling a gold coin into Conner's chest.
"How many bets did you guys make?" Percy asked. "And what was that?"
"Nothing." Clarisse said quickly. Percy shrugged and rolled his eyes at the obvious cover up. He didn't really mind the one uncomfortable moment in the general comfortable atmosphere. It was surprising, and relieving to be able to joke and converse with a group that wasn't bitter or… well, dead. His only friends he actually regularly talked to were in Elysium, and the Underworld wasn't exactly a bus ride away if he wanted to hang out.
In fact, this might've been the least tension-free environment Percy had been a part of in a while. With Artemis and the Hunters, there was always that vibe that came with being around man-hating huntresses who wouldn't hesitate to castrate you for making one wrong move, and even when he was alone there lingered a certain burden. Percy was just a drifting storm cloud, waiting to either evaporate completely or be taken by the wind in the right direction
It was when Percy realized that the entire camp was beginning to funnel out that he noticed it was almost pitch black outside, only fiery torches lighting up the starry night.
"Shit, how'd that happen?" Percy muttered to himself. Where did all the time go? It seemed like not five minutes ago the sun had failed to set.
"Damn, looks like we gotta head in." Travis said. "And we were just getting into it, too."
"You staying for breakfast, Perce?" Conner asked. Percy looked over and saw the pleading look on the son of Hermes' face. He nodded.
"Great. Do you know how and when you're getting to the Hunt?" Malcolm asked. Percy thoughtfully stared at the young man for a few moments before shrugging.
"I actually have no idea." Percy said. "I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get there."
"In the morning we can show you around camp!" Katie said excitedly as she stood up from her seat. The rest of the table slowly followed, some groaning and stretching due to their stiff muscles.
"Katie, I know what the camp looks like." Percy said with a small smile. She nodded nonetheless.
"Yeah, but we have to introduce you to some of the new campers." Katie said confidently, almost like she was ordering Percy and daring him to say no. "And there are new cabins for a lot of the minor gods." Percy shook his head and looked at Travis, who was hugging Katie from behind. He didn't know much about their relationship, but since they knew each other since they were pre-teens, they had to be together for a reason. From the little he had seen, they were happy, and together.
Percy wished he was in Travis' place. Not in a relationship with Katie Gardner, no, but with Annabeth. With the love of his life. It was probably selfish to think he deserved that after everything he had experienced, but he was half-human after all. And the other half of him was arguably even more ambitious and selfish than the first.
"Fine, I guess you can give me a tour of this place that I already know like the back of my hand." Percy said, relenting after seeing that Travis would be no help in this situation. Still, even as he said it, he smiled. Having friends was nice.
"Alright gang, I think we've gotta go before the harpies start chasing us for staying up past curfew." Will said. Percy followed his gaze and saw a smiling Chiron waving for them to get going. Percy waved back as they made their way out of the pavilion.
"Goodnight my fellow demigods, and may Morpheus have mercy on your souls!" Travis yelled as he, Katie, and Conner began to separate from the pack. The rest of the group said their goodbyes and goodnights, with Percy making his way down the familiar path toward the cabin of Poseidon.
The air was humid, and the stars were beautiful considering they were pretty close to an extremely polluted city, but his cabin was what intrigued him the most about the peculiar night.
It was almost identical to when he resided in the cabin - except for the lack of stray cobwebs and rusted door knob - and Percy found himself wondering if the interior would be the same as well.
The smell was the same, the overpowering scent of the sea invading his nostrils and sending chills of euphoria down his spine. He shivered at the concoction of the scent and the cold atmosphere, causing him to rush himself toward the door.
The icy cold feeling of the doorknob as he twisted it and flung open the front door was nothing compared to what happened next.
A dark haired girl, probably in her pre-teen stage at 12 to 14 years old, was calmly slipping her hair into a ponytail, revealing her piercing navy blue eyes that widened at the sight of Percy at the entrance.
"What the fuck?" Percy exclaimed, standing completely frozen in his place. The girl smiled nervously as her hair tie snapped into place and her arms fell to her sides.
She tentatively strode to Percy and gently pulled him in, closing the door behind him as he took mere subconscious steps forward.
"You might want to sit down." the girl said softly, leading Percy to a sea-green couch in the middle of the room. Percy simply stared at her dumbly and flopped down onto the soft cushions. "We have a lot to talk about."
How'd u guys think? Good? Bad? Don't forget about my question, and see you guys next time!
Here are the reviews:
Percyfanjackson: We'll probably see more of Percy and Aphrodite. I definitely like them as a pair, their interactions are just so fun to write.
Warlord009: Yessir you know it. But does she know it? It'll be fun to write both povs.
HellRaiderS: Once again, thank u my good sir
udm17: Thank u thank u, yeah I know Aphrodite is a bit OOC but that's okay if it reads and flows well.
HotSox: Yeah I like her not just sitting on a throne and checking her makeup (even if she did exactly that in this chapter), I wanted her to actually do something. And with the Ancient Laws and all that shit, I just said fuck it and threw her into the mortal world.
Guest: Glad you don't really care who gets paired with who, you'll keep reading anyways. It's really nice to hear that.
NBAChampion2005: Thanks, hope you liked this one
TheMeister7: True, very true lmao. I guess he should be blaming me. Speaking of which, maybe I should have Percy break the 4th wall every now and then, what do you think? Not every chapter of course, but just for some added humor or darkness etc.
NovaCrete: Thanks, even if the interaction between Aphrodite and Percy doesn't advance the plot the most, it's still fun and at least slightly productive. Even if they don't see each other every chapter in the future, they'll probably remain friends and chat every once in a while.